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How does Zinfluence Affect Article Influence?

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The paper analyses the leading journals in Neuroscience using quantifiable Research Assessment Measures (RAM). Alternative RAM criteria are discussed for the Thomson Reuters ISI Web of Science database (hereafter ISI). The ISI RAM that are calculated annually or updated daily include the classic 2-year impact factor (2YIF), 5-year impact factor (5YIF), Immediacy (or zero-year impact factor (0YIF)), Eigenfactor score, Article Influence score, C3PO (Citation Performance Per Paper Online), h-index, Zinfluence, PI-BETA (Papers Ignored - By Even The Authors), and three new RAM, namely Self-citation Threshold Approval Rating (STAR), Impact Factor Inflation (IFI), and Cited Article Influence (CAI). The RAM criteria are analysed for 26 highly cited journals in the ISI category of Neurosciences. The paper highlights the similarities and differences in alternative RAM criteria, shows that several RAM capture similar performance characteristics of highly cited journals, and finds that the Eigenfactor score and PI-BETA are not highly correlated with the other RAM scores, and hence convey additional information regarding journal rankings. Harmonic mean rankings are also presented of the 13 RAM criteria for the 26 highly cited journals. It is shown that emphasizing the 2-year impact factor of a journal to the exclusion of other informative RAM criteria can lead to a distorted evaluation of journal performance and influence.